


An Ending We Deserve

by ThereWillBeCubes



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: F/M, Gen, Season 8, essentially a fix-it fic, voltron season 8
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-12-16
Updated: 2018-12-16
Packaged: 2019-09-19 20:15:32
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,897
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17008473
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ThereWillBeCubes/pseuds/ThereWillBeCubes
Summary: A cope/fix-it fic for the last season of Voltron, and particularly the awful ending. In three parts. Allurance-focused but I've tried to include everyone, with focus on the paladin team; they all deserved better.





	1. Alone

10 years.

 

10 years, and the juniberry flowers swirled open their petals in the crisp dawn light. 10 years and the lowing brushed over the fields in gentle melody. 10 years and the smell of breakfast on the stove drifted from the open kitchen window.

 

10 years, and he was alone. 

 

Everyone celebrated the day she’d saved them all, everyone celebrated the creation of new timelines and the universe reborn. They called and praised her name, laid wreaths at stone feet, and in the Altean dusk he sat there in her silent shadow. His heart would lift at the others, doing so well with their lives, to see them and be close, even for a day. Red’s element would make sense; how he wanted to plunge his hands into the fire, for even a moment, to feel what they felt, the joy in them, no matter how it licked agony across his heart. He’s glad for Coran, for someone that understands; they share the loss most keenly. 

 

Then back to the four winds, scattered to their great projects and causes. And he would return here. He would stand by their tree and feel what was left thrumming in his veins, calling out to what she had given to the Earth. The leaves would be red and gold in the autumn eve, and all he wished was that she could be here with him. 

 

His family always feasted when he returned, the house swelling with love, and he remembered when all it took was their faces and their closeness to make him whole again.

 

He remembered, and he ached. The kids clamber for him, for play and stories, and he is happy to tell them, but he can’t stop wondering what his own children would look like. Veronica makes her toast to family and he almost reaches for the hand next to him. He toasts Allura and he can see his sorrow in their faces. 

 

Then they would leave, and the absence would hiss and seal into a vacuum of stillness. His mother and father lived with him, on the farm. His nieces and nephews, brothers and sisters, would often stay as well. They lived close by, most of them. 

 

Many days were good with them around. His flowers sold all over the galaxy, and they lived well. Coran and Romelle would often visit; Altea had its own fields, but Earth was special. His hands nurturing were the closest thing he could get to her, and Coran claimed the Altean celebrations needed a bouquet of his flowers to have Earth’s love and presence with them, as Allura loved the planet so. Lance often wondered if it was just an excuse to see him, but he appreciates it all the same. 

 

Many days were not good. The days rain fell and he felt his connection singing, their element suffusing him, but she was not there. He could feel… something, but the link pressed against the veil of his mortality, only able to feel what was left in her wake. 

 

His mother gently scolds him when he gets the flu, but she goes so quiet when he says he could feel her out there, only droplets on his skin. When he can cry and the tears run hot for only a moment before their element chases them away.

 

The days he woke up before the sun, the stars soft beyond the glass, and his heart seizes until he thinks he could die. The fleeting moments where he wishes he would. Lying awake, hands clutching the plush of Blue meant for her, seeing Her stars so far away. He remembers when he wanted to touch them, to fly into the great blue beyond.

 

Blue, blue, blue, blue.

 

It haunted him. Seared when he got too close. 

 

She was with him and it was torture. His face indelibly marked with her love, and it pierced his heart every time he saw himself in the mirror. 

 

Those days would pass, too. And Allura Day would arrive again, when the universe would cry her name as he does. 

 

But today wasn’t that day. Today wasn’t Her day. It was theirs. 

 

The day they found the Blue Lion. The day this all truly began. The day Blue brought them to her, and his life changed forever. 

 

Their first day together. The first time the love of his life held him. 

 

Yes, she’d bruised more than his ego, and he chuckles to himself. He wished the bruises were still there, sometimes, a visceral reminder that they met. Even that was precious. 

 

Lance follows a winding path, through the fields of sweet flowers. The dew sparkles in the rising sun, tiny stars on their petals. He takes one in his hands, fingers digging to find the delicate roots, and lifts it whole from the Earth. 

 

Tonight he would go to the tree, the tree that warmed his skin when he touched it. 

 

Now he goes to the stream, shaded by a lush grove. The juniberries run wild here, and they’re… different. Amongst the beloved pink grow flowers blue; light, familiar hue, entwined and paired. His cheeks warm, not yet from tears. His fingertips have the ghost of a glow as quintessence rises to meet him, fluttering and fading. The flower in his hand goes into the soil, it, too, effervescent.

 

Only Coran knows about this place. He agreed that Lance should never sell them. That they were to stay here. 

 

The petals flush into purple as he coaxes back into the soil. Tears finally slip down his cheeks as he dips his hands into the stream, letting the cool water wash the dirt away, taking a small handful. He guides it into the earth, humming with quintessence. 

 

The flower blooms like the morning sky, into joyful blue. Lance smiles, and brushes a soft petal with a trembling finger. 

 

He sits in the shade, silent, listening to the water’s whisper and breathing in the pollen and loam. 

 

When he opens his eyes, the juniberry flowers have encircled the newest addition, and one winds itself around the stem, until both are nestled together, inseparable.

 

Maybe one day, after he finally died, they would spread free across the Earth, everlasting, but today he needed them. To grow strong. To stay strong. To let them be together away from prying eyes and hands. To have this for himself. 

 

To have something of her, of them, that would be able to live truly as one.

 

-


	2. Reach

 

It’s rare he sees them at night. The glow is sometimes visible from the fields, but everyone has enough experience with quintessence phenomena that they merely smile and go about their evenings. 

 

He plants a flower, dips his feet in the stream. From here the stars are clear, the Milky Way running thick overhead. Lance wonders how the others are. Hunk and Shay often sent mail and new recipes they’d perfected, and their families would meet for beach days and huge cookouts. Keith’s Blades often popped up in the news and videos, and it’s strange to see Keith smiling so much, finally open and accepted. Shiro’s with him often, and Lance gets the odd happy snap of the two of them, propped on their bikes, wild vistas stretching behind them. Shiro’s everywhere. He’s Earth’s ambassador, their icon. Lance is glad he could have a break, but it’s clear Shiro can’t be idle for long. The weight of the world and all that. And Pidge, well, there was never any doubt she’d become one of Earth’s greatest researchers and scientists. Many of the Olkarian survivors lived on Earth, and Pidge spent much of her time with them, learning and teaching.

 

They were out there. They were alive and well. He simply… knows it. It’s the connection again; the Lions may have departed, but he… and Allura, are connected to all of them.

 

It’s been 10 years. 

 

He’s alone in the stream, the water is so cold. He can feel them, but his reach is too short.

 

The stars swim in his tears.

 

‘Allura,’ he whispers, hoarse with grief, ‘Allura, please. I can’t… go on…’

 

He falls to his knees, hands in the water.

 

‘I said I- I couldn’t imagine a world without you- and I can’t.’

 

The tears are taken silently by the water.

 

‘I can’t do this for much longer. I just want to be with you!’

 

He rocks back on his haunches, screaming into the sky. 

 

‘Allura! Please!’

 

A star moves. 

 

No, not a star. Something bright, something growing larger and larger. 

 

Just like the day he met Blue, soaked to the bone, and she opened for him. 

 

And now, she returns, landing just beyond the grove. 

 

‘Blue! Blue!’ he cries, running as fast as he can, night air freezing and buffeting his light clothing.

 

Blue dips, her mouth opening. Lance doesn’t need any more prompting. 

 

The metal is cold and slippery under his feet, but he races into the cockpit, sitting in the pilot’s seat. It shifts forward, and under his touch the panels light up. He almost laughs, but he’s seized with the thought that the last person here was Allura. Blue roars, and the ground shrinks under her feet. 

 

The heady exhilaration of flight, the moon getting closer and the Earth beneath them; he truly missed this. 

 

His comms panel blinks, startling him. He taps it.

 

‘Lance, are you there?’ Pidge’s voice asks, sounding stunned.

 

‘I am!’ he says, and genuine joy bubbles up from his stomach. Oh, he missed this so much.

 

‘Any idea what’s going on?’ Pidge says.

 

‘I don’t know, Blue just arrived and I hopped in!’

 

His stomach does another pleasant flip at the sight of the Green Lion in his periphery, rising gracefully. 

 

‘Same with Green,’ Pidge replies, ‘I wonder if the others’ Lion’s appeared too?’

 

He opens his mouth, but the breath leaves his lungs as a wormhole opens up in front of them. Pidge says something, exclaiming, but Lance can’t make it out. He throws his weight onto Blue’s controls, thrusters to full capacity, and she responds, racing towards the opening in front of them. 

 

The radar blips show Pidge following. This wasn’t one of Sam and Slav’s wormholes. None of them opened so far away from Earth. 

 

‘Right behind you,’ Pidge says, and they dive into the portal, crossing the passage of spacetime in moments. 

 

When they surface, it’s in open space, the galaxies distant. They stay there, quiet, waiting.

 

The Red Lion arrives first, and when Pidge hails it, Keith responds. Hunk appears next, and his image is him rubbing sleep from his eyes, still in his pyjamas.

 

‘Any idea w-why we’re here?’ he asks, stifling a yawn. 

 

‘No clue,’ Pidge says.

 

A last wormhole opens, and through it, the Black Lion. Shiro’s steady voice hails them, and Lance feels the bone-deep ache of nostalgia. 

 

‘Paladins,’ Shiro says, ‘it’s good to see you, but we have a pressing matter. Does anyone know what is happening? Why we were called here?’

 

‘I’m not picking up any distress signals,’ Pidge responds.

 

‘My star charts can’t find us,’ Keith says quietly, ‘and the Blades have travelled extensively.’

 

‘So- we’re like… in really far space?’ Hunk says, a tiny note of panic in his voice. 

 

‘I would hazard that,’ Shiro says, bringing up his video chat, and it jolts Lance to see him in his paladin armour, ‘perhaps there is a new threat from here.’ 

 

‘Wow, okay, so, anyone else still in pyjamas? Because I didn’t really think about changing when Yellow arrived.’

 

‘I’m still in lab gear.’

 

Keith appears, wearing his senior Blades uniform.

 

‘Well, whatever this is, we should be on alert.’

 

Blue thrums, and Lance gasps. His essence tries to leave his body, to be more than it, but it’s grounded. Below his eyes, a glow.

 

‘Lance, are you alright?’ Shiro asks.

 

‘Allura,’ Lance breathes, and of her own volition Blue moves, gliding towards a swirling patch of stars. If the others speak, he doesn’t hear them. They follow. 

 

The pride flies silently through the gases and flecks of stardust. Grand galaxies stretch beyond them, bright, and Lance wipes away tears.

 

‘This is incredible,’ Hunk says softly, ‘space going on and on.’

 

‘The whole universe,’ Keith says. 

 

The star system shines blue, bowed- _ Her. _

 

‘It’s…’ Shiro whispers.

 

‘Allura.’ 

 

They all cry out, quintessence shocking the lions, but there is no pain. The lions roar and move into position, streaking coloured light.

 

‘Form Voltron!’ Shiro cries. 

 

Lance could almost imagine this was a decade ago. The feeling of connection so strong, so steady, as they linked together. Almost foreign to him. But he could never forget this feeling. 

 

‘Thrusters!’ Shiro says, a little unnecessarily, but the unity is comforting as they surge forward into the great collection of stars. 

 

There’s another throb of energy, and memory floods him; Blue staring up into this very star field, dimmer, less defined.

 

‘Did you guys see…?’ Hunk says, sounding awed.

 

‘The lions knew she was here,’ Keith finished.

 

They drift to a stop. She was there. Her familiar form achingly close. 

 

But bitterness bursts in his mouth; he still couldn’t reach her. Why was this happening? Were the lions so cruel?

 

‘Lance,’ Shiro says, soft, ‘we were brought here for a reason, as Voltron.’

 

He realises they can see him crying, the tears dripping onto his shirt. 

 

‘Yeah dude,’ Hunk says, ‘they wouldn’t bring us here for no reason, right?’

 

Lance tries to smile, but it’s false and heavy on his lips. His clothing is still damp from the stream, throat dry from his screams.

 

‘I think they just... wanted us to see her,’ he responds hollowly, ‘to remind us…’

 

Remind us what she died for. So we could live. 

 

_ But why? Why?  _

 

_ You never explained it, you left me here alone. After everything. How could I live? _

 

‘Lance…’ Keith murmurs, and he realises he’s been speaking aloud.

 

His hands grip the controls so tightly his knuckles go white.

 

‘I didn’t need reminding,’ Lance grounds out, ‘wherever I am, she’s there… and so far away…’

 

The soft blue patina drifts from the stars, Allura’s form fading. Everyone is quiet. 

 

‘No, no…’ Lance whispers. Were they brought here to watch her leave?

 

‘Paladins-’ Shiro says, urgent. Keith and Pidge cry out. And then he’s swallowed whole, engulfed in the raging storm of quintessence. The Void. They appear, one by one, purple, red, green, yellow. He is blue. Always. 

 

Focus. 

 

Did Shiro say it? Did he have to?

 

_ Focus. _

 

He alone begins to sink, his quintessence singing, and even as the others yell his name he smiles and submits himself to the Void. She’s all around them. She’s Everything. 

 

Here. The endless, infinite bounds of their plane, blue star eclipsed in the sky.

 

‘Allura!’ he cries, ‘Allura! Are you there?’

 

The star flares, and in its wake Allura, skeins of starlight rippling from her aura. In the dress she wore to their first date, hair curling and waving, and her smile  Every mote of his being reaches for her, yearning. 

 

‘Allura,’ Lance says, disbelieving as his hands take hers, ‘it’s…’ 

 

‘It’s me, Lance,’ Allura replies, voice warm, warm as her hands and her eyes, ‘it’s me.’

 

He cannot wait a moment longer, pulling Allura into an embrace, arms clamped fast around her. Arms press into him. 

 

He doesn’t know how time passes in the Void. He could stay here forever if not for their waiting friends.

 

‘I missed you so much,’ Lance whispers, ‘every day, every minute.’ 

 

Allura smiles, placing a hand on his cheek. He leans into it, soothing.

 

‘I missed you too, so very much, Lance.’

 

‘How… have you come back…?’ 

 

‘You tethered me,’ she murmurs, fingertips tracing his cheeks, the marks she left on him as her gift, ‘time and space are… so vast. Unending.’

 

He cradles her face in his hand, trembling with tenderness. Her eyes glisten and drop motes of sparkling light.

 

‘I was myself, and then… everything. Overwhelming, Lance.’ 

 

Lance’s arm slides around her waist, and again they draw together, her essence mingling with his.

 

‘Everyday… I… realised... I was waiting…’ 

 

‘And every moment I felt, Lance, every moment brought me closer.’ 

 

He kisses her then, unable to speak.

 

‘I love you…’ 

 

‘I love you too, Lance.’

 

They rest their foreheads together, hands clasped. Peaceful.

 

‘You felt the others as well,’ Lance says, closing his eyes, feeling her warmth. The plane seems to throb, answering him without words. 

 

_ Yes, all of you. Together, I could become myself again. _

 

‘Oh my gosh oh my gosh-’

 

‘Allura!’ 

 

‘Allura, Lance…’ 

 

The paladins close in, Hunk crushing them into a group hug. He’s crying freely, and if he could Lance is sure he’d pick them all up and swing them around. Keith’s smile is disbelieving, shocked. Pidge is squeezing Allura with all her strength, and Shiro…

 

Lance meets his soft gaze, streaked with tears. 

 

‘We’re finally together again,’ he says thickly, ‘the paladins. Our team.’

 

‘P-Pidge,’ Allura says, wiggling in twin vicegrips, ‘Hunk!’

 

‘No, nope nope no, not letting you go,’ Hunk says, Pidge vigorously shaking her head. Allura laughs, and it pierces his heart with such searing joy.

 

‘You must for a moment, to return to the lions,’ Allura says.

 

‘What about you?’ Keith demands, sounding almost angry in his panic. Allura smiles at each of them. She rests it upon Lance.

 

‘I shall be returning with you.’ 


End file.
